Eden Derailed by Matt Williams

One of the blessings of maintaining this blog is the opportunity to read and review books.  For a long while my heart and spirit have been troubled by the state of marriage these days, so when I was asked if cared to review Eden Derailed a theology of sex, the first book by Matt Williams, I gladly agreed.  The back cover states:

We live in a culture littered with the carnage of sexual train wrecks.

To understand the cause of this personal and cultural derailing - and to restore our vision of what could be, what should be - we have to go back to the beginning and see how the train ride began...

Matt takes us back to the garden where our life as men and women came flying off track, where God's perfect design for intimacy between His creation and Himself and between man and woman was shattered.  He also takes us into the present day reality of life and love and the search for the kind of partnering we think we want compared to what God intends for us.

Matt shares his belief that commitment must precede intimacy.  Yes, you read that correctly but we live it incorrectly.  We tend to get over involved emotionally (even if we are able to leave sex out of the picture) waiting to see if a relationship feels right before we commit.  The wounds and pain we bear and inflict pile up in heaps of rubbish.

I am not proud that I myself have a past "littered with the carnage of sexual train wrecks" as Matt would say.  I bought the lie that the world and the enemy were selling, but I have been cleansed and redeemed by the One Who always loved me, long before I chose to acknowledge Him.  Allowing the Lord to lead me resulted in a Godly marriage that I rejoice in and thank Him for daily.

With wisdom and fresh revelation Williams walks readers through shaky ground.  With study questions to go along with each chapter I believe this book can and will help others avoid the mistakes I made and the mistakes made by so many others.

This book is both important and well written.  Grab a copy for yourself and for anyone else you know who may be lost in the maze created back in the garden.

You can read the first chapter on the Eden Derailed website Here.

Matt Williams is the Founding Pastor and Directional Leader of Grace Church, in Greenville, SC.  Eden Derailed is his first book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.  The opinions shared are my own.